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Northwest Church of Christ 3904 38th Street NW Canton, Ohio 44718 330-492-5523 Fax: 330-493-7119 |
“Looking At Life” |
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“Looking At Life”
(I Peter 4:1-8)
I. Introduction.
A. The letters of I and II Peter were written to encourage
Christians to be faithful to God and to Christ while
undergoing the tests and trials of life in this world.1. One of our often-sung songs says: “Time is filled
with swift transition – Naught of earth unmoved
can stand – Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s Unchanging hand.”2. This idea has been an encouragement to God’s
people in every generation.3. Apostle Paul warned people of the price to be paid
for faithfulness: “Yes and all who desire to live
godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
(II Timothy 3:12).a. The church of Peter and Paul’s time – and
for years afterward – had to endure physical
abuse, imprisonment, even death.b. Christians, today, are more likely to
experience social and peer-pressures, verbal
abuse, or ridicule, and a sense of alienation
from a culture more and more anti-Christian
all the time.4. Now, as in past times, Christians need something
“unmoved” and “unchanging.”5. The epistles of Peter emphasize this truth. They
also identify the permanent values and ageless
truths that are the very basis of the way a Christian
should look at life.-2-
B. Everyone must establish in their lives some solid values
and stabilizing commitments. If we don’t, we will, as
James says, become “. . . a double-minded man, unstable in
all his ways.” (James 1:8). We can have a strong, secure,
unshakeable foundation for our lives; we can agree on
what’s right and good, and seek to apply that knowledge in
our daily life. We can live with a purpose and a goal,
without which there is no motivation to develop Christian
character and our personal spiritual life.C. But, what is the meaning of life? How do we find a
purpose for our existence? By what standard should we
measure behavior, ours and others? Is quality of life
merely a matter of seeking personal happiness? Of what
consequence are the choices we make, and will there be a
final reckoning regarding those choices?1. The questions are as old as humanity itself. The
answers are as varied as the people who raised them
in each succeeding generation.2. We are inundated – overwhelmed – with sources
which claim to tell us the best philosophy of life. In
print, over the airwaves of radio and television, the
famous and not-so-famous tell us what they see as
the best – possibly the only – way of looking at life.D. Peter holds out to his hearers, and to us, the idea that life is
the creation of, and possession of, God. In I Peter 4 down
through verse 8, Peter gives three practical guidelines for
looking at life as the God of creation intended it to be. He
desires we look at life in purity, with the end in view, and
unselfishly.
-3-
II. The Whole Duty Of Man.
A. In verses 1-5, Peter says, “Christians, live in purity.”
Repudiate the “lusts of men . . .” and follow the “. . . will
of God . . .” (verse 2).1. There is a pressure to conform and a desire to
belong that, as Paul says, is “. . . warring against the
law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin which is in my members.”
(Romans 7:23).2. It’s hardly possible for us to imagine that the world
in which the church began was even more immoral
than the world today. Only in the time of Noah,
when “. . . the wickedness of man was great in the
earth, and . . . every intent [thought] of . . . his
heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5),
might it have been worse than it was in the Roman-
dominated world of the 1st century. People were
murdered by the thousands as a form of
entertainment; pagan rituals of worship involved
sexual immorality on a grand scale; every form of
licentiousness was practiced.3. Christians who resisted the ways of the world were
immediate targets for persecution (Re-read verses
3-4).
-4-
a. After using several words to describe
specific sins (verse 3), Peter uses the broader
term (“ASOTIA”) in verse 4. It
characterizes a life of indulgence. The King
James and American Standard versions
translate this as “riot,” but the more-current
word is found in the N.I.V. and New King
James versions, “dissipation.” The Revised
Standard version puts it as “profligacy.” It
means an abandonment of moral restraint,
the reckless life with no self-control. It’s
the extreme opposite of purity and godly
behavior.b. To live in purity is to forsake such behavior.
But, those without moral restraint “. . . think
it strange . . .” that anyone would trade such
pleasure for that different kind of life the
Christian is called to live. More than that,
they resent such change and may abuse
those who attempt to live more godly, pure
lives.c. From non-biblical sources we know that the
Romans regarded Christian morality as a
repressive system and called those who
taught it, and lived it, “haters of mankind.”
Peter says such people “. . . will give
account to Him [God]. . .” (verse 5).4. There is no way to live in purity and abandon moral
responsibility. Christ and sin are not compatible
(Read Romans 13:13-14).B. To look at life in purity is to consider the second guideline
Peter lays down, in verse 7 (Re-Read). We must answer to
God for our lives on earth; we must live with the end in
view.
-5-
1. In context, going back to verses 5 and 6,
preparing for the end of life, and God’s judgment is
connected with the preaching of the gospel
(Re-Read verses 5 and 6).2. Both Judaism and New Testament Christianity see
the world’s history as linear – that is going some-
where, with a purpose; moving toward a determined
end. What is that end? What are we always
moving toward? Peter’s answer is: Judgment.3. One of the great difficulties in this part of Peter’s
letter is found in verse 6, when, it says: “. . . the
gospel was preached also to those who are
dead, . . .”a. Some have used the verse to seek to teach a
doctrine of salvation offered to those who
are dead, the spirits of the Hadean world.
But, if that is so, it makes this verse
inconsistent with what the rest of the New
Testament has to say about our soul’s
salvation and our personal responsibility to
obey God in this life.b. The New Testament very clearly teaches
that physical death seals our eternal
destiny – a destiny that cannot be altered
after one leaves this world.
(e.g. Luke 16:26).
-6-
c. The best explanation may be that the
passage refers to deceased Christians, who
received the gospel while they were yet
alive, but have now died. Even though
people see them as fools for refusing the
indulgences of pleasures in this world
(verse 4), God rewards them with eternal
life.4. God’s judgment is certain. The end of this world
is certain – its time is unknown. As Christians, we
must always live with that certain end in view.
Don’t confuse immediacy with imminence. We
cannot argue for an immediate return of Christ,
because, “. . . of that day and hour no one knows,
not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only”
(Matthew 24:36). But, we can acknowledge an
imminent return – one that could occur at any
moment.5. With that certain end in view, Peter says we
should “. . . live according to God in the spirit,”
and “. . . be serious and watchful in [our] prayers”
(verses 6 and 7). We cannot be unconcerned about
today, though, because we will be called to account
for its use when the end does come.C. Then, third, Peter says, “Christians, live unselfishly.”
(Re-Read verse 8).1. How does such unselfish concern, such love, for
others “. . . cover a multitude of sins?”a. Christians should not take offense easily.
Christians are patient with others and their
faults. Christians don’t store up grievances
and look for chances to get even.-7-
b. Christians don’t look for ways to hinder, but
to help, other people.c. Such love – such unselfishness – “hides”
(does not dwell upon) many sins.2. Our love can overlook many things. It’s not being
blind to sin, but accepting people as they are in
order to help them to be as God wants us to be.3. Unselfishness affects our relationship with others –
and with God. His love atones for all sin (Read
I John 4:7-11).III. Conclusion.
A. The writer of Ecclesiastes, long before Peter, summed up
the only way to look at life: “. . . Fear God and keep His
commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring
every work into judgment, including every secret thing,
whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).B. God is glorified when we look at life – and use our lives –
in the right way. His way is the right way.